Lee Jae-myung: "There Were Many Difficulties in the Forced Epidemiological Investigation of Gwacheon Shincheonji"

[Asia Economy (Suwon) = Reporter Lee Young-gyu] It has been confirmed that the government showed a negative stance when Gyeonggi Province conducted a forced epidemiological investigation on the Shincheonji Jesus Church Gwacheon Headquarters.

On the 28th, Gyeonggi Province Governor Lee Jae-myung stated at an emergency press conference held at the Gyeonggi Provincial Government Office in Suwon, "I understand that the government made a political judgment that it would be better to receive (information such as the list of believers) through amicable consultation rather than using coercive power regarding Shincheonji. However, I had my own approach, and I decided on a forced epidemiological investigation because I thought it would be difficult to accurately obtain the data unless we swiftly and secretly raided using coercive power."

He also shared the communication situation with the government at that time.

Governor Lee said, "On that day, the government initially suggested withdrawing, but after a phone call with Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun, the situation was managed, and it was decided that Gyeonggi Province would conduct the forced epidemiological investigation while the government would negotiate with Shincheonji. Later, Shincheonji used their skills to say that since Gyeonggi Province was conducting the forced epidemiological investigation, they would not provide data to the government, attempting to sow discord between Gyeonggi Province and the government," explaining the situation at the time.

He added, "Afterwards, epidemiological investigators were dispatched by the government, and we shifted to a support role. I understand that the government obtained the list. The central epidemiological investigator requested the entire list, and if (Shincheonji) submitted manipulated, altered, or different lists, it would constitute obstruction of the epidemiological investigation and be subject to punishment and investigation. I understand that the central government is currently determining whether there are errors in this list," he added.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.